History, Philosophy, Theory of Herbal Medicine Flashcards
Terminology from the American Botanical Council website. "Understanding terms or words commonly used in herbal literature provides a basic foundation for people new to herbs and reinforces the basics for those with some experience with herbal medicine. The following terminology categories offer a comprehensive understanding of herbal medicine’s role in healthcare."
A branch of American medicine popular in the latter half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century that made use of therapies found to be beneficial to patients including medicinal plants, as well as physical therapy practices. Doctors in this system practice with a philosophy based on “alignment with nature.”
Eclectic Medicine
Also known as “conventional medicine” in Western societies. This system focuses on treating the symptoms of diseases primarily through prescription drugs and surgery. This approach utilizes a process of reductionism (focusing on the symptoms exhibited in a part of the organism rather than focusing on the organism as a whole.)
Allopathy
Literally meaning the “science of life.” This system is a 5,000-year-old system of medicine originating in India that combines natural therapies with a highly personalized, holistic approach to the treatment of disease, which is believed to be the result of disharmony between the person and the environment. This medicine system works to balance the three basic types of energy (doshas) that occur in everyone and everything: vata, pitta, and kapha.
Ayurvedic Medicine
A system of medicine founded in the late 18th century in which remedies consist of diluted substances from plants, minerals and animals. It is based on a theory that “like cures like.” Remedies specifically match different symptom pattern profiles of illness to stimulate the body’s natural healing process.
Homeopathy
A healthcare system that tends to incorporate various methods of botanical and animal medicines as well as specific ceremonial rituals of the culture to cure disease. The medicinal knowledge is passed from generation to generation primarily through oral traditions. The system tends to be unique to each tribe.
Indigenous or Tribal Medicine
Japan’s traditional medicine system which has been used since the Han period (206BC to 220 CE of ancient China. The Shang han lun is a therapeutic handbook for the application of herbal prescriptions based on the use of raw herbs.
Kampo
A holistic medical system that treats health conditions by utilizing what is believed to be the body’s innate ability to heal. Doctors in this system aid healing processes by incorporating a variety of natural methods based on the patient’s individual needs.
Naturopathy
A 3,000-year-old holistic system of medicine combining the use of medicinal herbs, acupuncture, food therapy, massage, and therapeutic exercise. Doctors in this system look for the underlying causes of imbalance in the “yin” and “yang” which lead to disharmony in the “qi” (energy) in the body. This medicine system addresses how illness manifests itself in a patient and treats the patient, not the ailment or disease.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
The origins of this medicine system are based on the system of Greek medicine developed by Hippocrates and Galen and later refined by the Persian scholar-physician, Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna (980-1037 CE). This medicine system is named from the Persian word meaning “Greek” and an Arabic word meaning “medicine”.
Unani-Tibb (aka: Unani Medicine, Arabian medicine, or Islamic medicine)
The art and science of the controlled use of essential oils extracted from plants to promote physical and psychological well-being. The oils are generally diluted in a carrier or base oil and used topically or via inhalation. While it is still unclear how this medicine system works, it may be that the essential oils interact with receptor sites in the central nervous system.
Aromatherapy
an approach to healing using vibrational medicine from flowers developed by Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930s. These medicines are made by a sun infusion of flowers in a bowl of spring water and preserved with alcohol. The essences are believed to embody the distinct imprint or energetic pattern of each flower species, and are used internally or topically to balance emotional states. The underlying philosophy focuses on stabilizing emotions in order to dissipate illness and stimulate internal healing processes.
Flower Essences
Considered the foundation of good health in numerous traditional medicine systems, eating a diverse and colorful whole foods diet offers an array of nutrients and phytochemicals known to be fundamental to preventing and treating disease.
Food as Medicine
An approach to wellness and healing which uses plant or plant-derived preparations to treat, prevent, or cure various health conditions and ailments. Although this system/approach does not have a specific point of conception, it is estimated that 80% of the world’s population relies on medicinal plant preparations for their primary healthcare needs, according to the World Health Organization. Despite the extensive use which can be attributed to the use of plants in traditional medical systems, our knowledge of the plants and their values remain largely unexplored.
Herbal Medicine
A system of therapeutics introduced by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796 based on the “law of similar,” which states that all diseases are best treated by diluted drugs or substances that produces effects similar to the symptoms of specific conditions or diseases in healthy individuals. This is similar to the theories applied to the use of vaccinations.
Homeopathy
The two-part scientific Latin name used to identify plants. The first name is the genus and is a general name that may be shared by a number of related plants. The second is the species name, which refers to the name that is specific to that individual plant, e.g., Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia.
Binomial, or Latin binomial
